Ingredients:

  • 1 can (28 oz) red chile sauce (*see Notes below)
  • 3 beef bouillon cubes
  • 2 Tbsp chili powder – regular, not chipotle or ancho, etc.
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp dried oregano leaves
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp finely ground black pepper
  • 5 lb beef chuck roast – trimmed of most visible fat

For a thicker sauce, you will also need the following ingredients: (*see Notes below for instructions on when to add)

  • 1/4 C chili powder
  • 1/4 C masa harina (found in the hispanic section of your grocery store)

Directions:

  1. Place a slow cooker liner bag in your crockpot (*see Notes below)
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together chile sauce, bouillon, chili powder, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and black pepper 
  3. Pour sauce into a large (at least 6 qt) crockpot
  4. Add chuck roast on top of the sauce
  5. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours

Notes:

  1. For easy clean up, I always use a slow cooker liner bag – make sure if you use a slow cooker liner bag, that you buy the specific liner bag that is made for Slow Cookers, DO NOT use anything else or it will melt and ruin your food!
  2. Instead of red chile sauce, you could substitute with red enchilada sauce – the flavor will be different, but it works!
  3. When finished the sauce will be very thin. It is okay to keep it like this or you can easily thicken it. Either way, remove the meat and pull it apart with two forks, it will be very tender. If you want to leave the sauce thin, place the pulled apart meat back in the crockpot with the sauce to flavor it.  To make the sauce thick and rich, remove meat from the crockpot and pull apart with two forks. Leave crockpot on low. Add 1/4 C chili powder and 1/4 C masa harina.  Stir to combine and place pulled apart meat back in the crockpot. Cover and cook for one more hour. Your sauce will be perfectly thick.